GB2215699A - Conveyor system for use in a container body. - Google Patents

Abstract

An overhead conveyor system for use on the underside of a roof structure (15) of a container body comprises an overhead conveyor rail extending throughout a major part of the length of the container body, and carrying a wheel suspended trolley which, when loaded with articles, such as garments, is guided through an entrance end of the container body and into the container body so that the articles can be removed and loaded into the container body, and then can return unloaded along the rail, or along a further rail. The overhead conveyor rail is formed from a plurality of individual rail portions (16) along its length, each of which is independently movable between a lowered operative position and an upper inoperative storage position (shown in Fig. 11). <IMAGE>

Description

CONVEYOR SYSTEM FOR USE IN A CONTAINER BODY This invention relates to a conveyor system for use in a container body.

The invention has been developed primarily in connection with a delivery van, in which case the "container body" will be the usual goods carrying enclosed body located immediately behind the driver's cab. However, for the purposes of this specification, it should be understood that the term "container body" is intended to include any enclosed cargo or goods carrying body, whether in the form of a self-propelled vehicle when in the form of a van or truck, or towed in the form of a trailer body.

Also, there should be included within this term a detachable container of the type which can be conveyed by road on a vehicle loading platform, and then off-loaded for unloading of the container at the ultimate destination, or conveyance by other means, such as rail or ship transport.

In the garment manufacturing industry, it is usual practice to transport finished garments from the factory to distribution points, or to wholesale or retail outlets. in large vans, which typically have a container body approximately 40 ft in length. Garments, such as trousers, suits or jackets, are relatively lightweight by comparison with the volumes which they occupy during storage, and therefore it is important to pack the available volume of storage space in the container body to the fullest extent possible, while of course not causing undue crushing or creasing of the garments. It is usual to transport batches of garments manually from a loading bay into the container body, and to hang the garments on suspension rails which are mounted transversely of the container body between the opposed side walls.Mounting sockets or "shoes" are arranged at various heights and along the length of the side walls, and so-called "elliptical" suspension rods or rails are mounted one by one into respective shoes as a previous one becomes filled with garments. In this way, the container body becomes progressively filled in a direction from the front wall of the container body.

The shoes are arranged along the side walls in two or more horizontal rows which are vertically spaced from each other according to the depth of garments to be hung, and with the shoes in each row being staggered i.e.

horizontally spaced from adjacent shoes in the neighbouring rows by a distance corresponding to the width of the garments, so as to achieve the most efficient possible filling of the available space.

Thus, to fill the container body, it is necessary for loaders to carry batches of garments manually from the loading bay (to which they may be delivered by trolleys or transportable storage racking), and into the container body so as to hang the garments onto an unfilled suspension rail. Once the rail has been filled, a further rail is mounted in position, and the process is repeated as the container body becomes progressively filled vertically, and then rearwardly step by step from the front wall of the container body to the rear entrance opening.

Given that the body is typically 40 ft in length, the initial travel by each loader will be an 80 ft return trip, which progressively diminishes to zero, thereby giving an average travel of 40 ft. This is therefore a very time consuming exercise, and typically it can taken 4 loaders up to 3 hours to load the container body with densely packed garments, such as trousers, and a similar time for unloading. Thus, this gives a labour content of 12 man hours for loading, and a further 12 man hours for unloading.

These loading and unloading labour costs are therefore a very significant proportion of the overall cost of bulk transport of garments from one place to another.

There is therefore a clear economic need for some means to be provided which can facilitate and therefore reduce the time involved in the bulk loading and unloading of garments, and the present invention has therefore been developed primarily, though not exclusively, with a view to meeting this objective by providing a novel conveyor system for use in a container body.

According to the invention there is provided a conveyor system for use in a container body in order to load and unload the container body with articles and which comprises: an overhead conveyor rail adapted to be mounted on the underside of the roof of the container body and to extend throughout at least a major part of the length of the container body, the rail being intended for use with a wheel-suspended trolley which is movable along the rail in order to convey articles to and from the container body; and, in which the overhead conveyor rail is formed with a plurality of individual rail portions along its length, each of which is independently movable between a lowered operative wheel-supporting position and an upper inoperative storage position.

Thus, in use of a conveyor system according to the invention, batches of articles can readily be conveyed by the trolley from a loading bay to a suitable unloading point within the container body, then transferred from the trolley to a suitable suspension rail or the like in the container body, and then the empty trolley can be returned to the loading bay. As each suspension rail becomes filled, a further suspension rail can be mounted in position to be filled by further batches of articles, and this process can be repeated, with the unloading point moving progressively back until the entire body is loaded with articles.

By providing the overhead rail which conveys the trolley to and fro, it is no longer necessary for loaders to walk backwards and forwards between the loading bay and the interior of the container body, and therefore the filling of the container body, and the unloading can be carried out in much less time and in a less fatiguing manner.

As the unloading point retreats, the individual rail portions can be progressively raised to the storage position, thereby making available further storage space in the container body.

In one embodiment, the overhead rail will be mounted substantially midway across the width of the container roof, though this is not essential and the rail may be arranged intermediate the middle of the roof and the side walls of the container body, provided that the side walls do not interfere with the to and fro movement of the trolleys.

Preferably, the individual portions of the overhead rail each comprises a suspended trapeze or U-shaped arm arrangement, the web of which forms, or carries the respective rail portion. This may be achieved by forming each side of a U-shaped arrangement as a J-profile, and with a running rail supported by the ends of each Jprofile.

The U-shaped arm arrangement may be mountable in any convenient manner to permit movement between the operative and inoperative positions, but preferably it is pivotally mountable in position.

In order to provide a limit stop for the length of movement of the trolley into the container body, each individual rail portion may be provided with a limit stop at the downstream end of the rail portion i.e. the end nearest to the front wall of the container, when it is required to move the unloading point rearwardly of the container body.

To facilitate the loading of the container body with articles, it may be preferable for the overhead rail to be arranged below the roof in such a way that there is a small degree of "fall" from the entrance end of the container body, whereby loaded trolleys can move under gravity action into the interior of the container body. To facilitate return movement of the empty trolleys, a further guide rail may be provided along either side wall of the container body and having a small "fall" in a direction towards the endtrance to the container body.The overhead conveyor rail is preferably mounted in position within the container body by means of a suitable arrangement of horizontal and vertical support beams, and may include a longitudinal horizontal support beam mounted along the underside of the container roof so as to extend from the entrance end towards the front wall of the container body, and conveniently the conveyor rail is suspended from this beam via mountings which permit vertical adjustment of the height of the conveyor rail, so as to suit the requirements of the loaders. Thus, for taller loaders, or lower roofed vehicles, it may be preferable for the overhead conveyor rail to be arranged closer to the underside of the roof of the container body.

In a further embodiment, the overhead rail comprises a tandem rail arrangement, with one of the rails serving for guidance of loaded trolleys into the container body and the other serving for the guidance of emptied trolleys out of the container body. This will enable either one of the rails to be used for loading purposes, trolleys can exit hanging either right or left handed of the rail dependent upon the rail system involved.

Each individual portion of the tandem rail arrangement may comprise twin track portions spaced apart laterally from each other and supported from an overhead support beam, preferably by a pair of supports arranged one at or near each end of the twin track portion. The supports may comprises inverted T-shape supports pivotally mounted at their upper ends on the overhead support beam and serving to interconnect the twin track portions by means of their lower cross-pieces.

A limit stop arrangement may define the lowered position of each portion, and a cable or other tensile lifting mechanism may be coupled with each portion to raise and lower the portion between its operative and inoperative positions.

To permit variation in height of each portion, and thereby collectively to alter the height and / or attitude of the overall twin track arrangement, each support may be vertically adjustable. This may be achieved by any convenient means, such as a telescopic arrangement.

To facilitate smooth and easy transfer of trolleys from a loading bay to an adjacent container body, and vice versa, a coupling piece may be provided having flexible couplings at each end, one of which can be coupled-up with an input end of the overhead conveyor system, and the other of which can be coupled-up with an end of a rail type support which extends from a factory or warehouse to the loading bay. Thus, upon connection between the two conveyor systems being completed, a loaded trolley can be easily transferred from one conveyor system to the other without any physical manhandling or lifting of the trolley being required.

Each portion of the overhead conveyor system of the invention can be individually moved between its operative and inoperative positions, but in order to lock successive portions together in the operative position, sliding bolt type locking mechansims may be provided on each portion.

Preferably, the downstream end of each portion has an abutment which is movable from an arresting position in which it limits the movement of a trolley when a successive downstream portion has been raised to its inoperative position, to an inoperative position out of the path of travel of a trolley to allow the trolley to move to the next successive downstream portion when the latter is in its operative position.

Conveniently, the sliding bolt type mechanism is arranged automatically to move or to trigger movement of the abutment to its inoperative position as the bolt moves into the sliding engagement with the successive portion.

A conveyor rail system according to the invention is particularly suitable for loading and unloading batches of garments into van and truck bodies, but it should be understood that the invention is applicable to the loading and unloading of other types of articles with respect to different types of container bodies.

Two embodiments of conveyor system according to the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of conveyor system according to the invention mounted on the underside of a roof structure of a container body, and adjusted to an inoperative or storage position; Figure 2 is a side view of the conveyor system in a lowered operative position; Figure 3 is a schematic end view of the container body looking through the rear entrance end thereof; Figure 4 is a detail end view of a suspension system of an individual rail portion of the conveyor system; Figure 5 is an end view of part of a supporting structure of the conveyor system; Figure 6 is an end view of an individual rail portion of the conveyor system;; Figure 7 shows detail views of switches for use with the conveyor system; Figure 8 is a schematic plan view of a second embodiment of conveyor system according to the invention; Figure 9 is a side view of the system shown in Figure 8; Figure 10 is a rear end view of the system shown in Figures 8 and 9; Figure 11 is a diagrammatic side illustration of a cable mechanism for raising and lowering individual portions of the second embodiment of conveyor system between lowered operative positions and raised inoperative stowed positions; Figures 12a and 12b are perspective views of the operative and inoperative positions respectively; Figure 13 is an end view of one of the individual component parts of the second embodiment; Figure 14 is a side view of the part shown in Figure 13; and, Figure 15 is a schematic illustration of a releasable locking mechanism for locking adjacent portions of the conveyor system together in the lowered position.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the first embodiment of conveyor system according to the invention is designated generally by reference 10 and is intended for use in a container body 11 having a front wall 12, a rear entrance 13, a pair of opposed side walls 14, and a roof structure 15. The conveyor system 10 takes the form of an overhead conveyor rail which is mounted on the underside of the roof 15 and extends throughout at least a major part of the length of the container body. The rail is intended for use with a wheel suspended trolley (not shown) which is movable along the rail in order to convey batches of articles to and from the container body for loading and unloading purposes. Conveniently, the trolley is of the type used to convey batches of articles along conveyor rails in factories producing garments or storing garments.

The overhead conveyor rail is formed with a plurality of individual rail portions 16 along its length. each of which is independently movable between a lowered operative position, as shown in Figure 2, suitable for supporting the wheels 17 of a wheel suspended trolley 18 as shown in Figure 6, and an upper inoperative storage position as shown in Figure 1. Thus, in use of the conveyor system, batches of articles can readily be conveyed by the trolley 18 from a loading bay to an unloading point, shown generally at 19, which initially will be adjacent to the front wall 12 of the container.Batches of articles can then be removed from the trolley at the unloading point, and transferred, usually manually, to a transversely extending suspension rail extending between suitable socket mountings in the side walls 14 of the container body, in well known manner in conveyor vans for transporting garments. The empty trolley can then be returned to the loading bay along the conveyor rail.

As each suspension rail becomes filled, a further suspension rail can be mounted in position to be filled by further batches of articles, and the process can then be repeated, with the unloading point 19 moving progressively back towards the entrance 13, until the entire container body is loaded with articles.

Evidently, by providing the overhead rail which conveys the trolley 18 to and fro, it is no longer necessary for loaders to walk backwards and forwards between the loading bay and the interior of the container body, and therefore the filling of the container, and also the unloading, can be carried out in much less time and also in a less fatiguing manner. As the unloading point (19) retreats, individual rail portions 16 can be progressively raised from the operative wheel-supporting position shown in Figure 2, to the raised storage position shown in Figure 1, thereby making available further storage space in the container body.

The individual rail portions 16 are preferably mounted substantially midway across the width of the container roof 15, by means of a cruciform arrangement of T-girders 19, and vertical supports 20. A typical T-girder support 20 is shown in Figure 5.

Each individual rail portion 16 is formed by a U shaped or trapeze arrangement 21, the web of which forms, or carries a respective rail portion. As shown in Figure 6, each side of the arrangement 21 is J-shaped, and a running rail 22 is carried by the free end of the Jsupport. The suspension arrangments 21 are pivotally -mounted at their upper ends, to enable the rail portion to be pivoted between its operative and inoperative positions, and conveniently the suspension mounting includes a support 24, as shown in Figure 4, which permits vertical adjustment of the height of the rail system, to suit the requirements of the loaders.

Switches 23 may be provided at the downstream ends of each rail portion, so as to be movable between a horizontal position allowing entry of a trolley onto the rail portion when in the lowered position, so that the trolley can only move along the rail to the immediately downstream rail portion. Also, each rail portion 16 is provided with a stop 25 to limit the entry movement of the trolley to any particular rail portion when the corresponding switch 23 is in the raised position.

In the accompanying drawings, reference A designates a switch, reference B a tipple stop, reference C the trapeze arms, reference D a T-shaped girder support, reference E a clearance bracket, reference F hinges, reference H a trolley rail, and reference I retaining clips to the underside of the roof structure to which the individual rail portions can be secured when raised to their inoperative positions.

Referring now to Figures 8 to 15, there is shown a second embodiment of overhead conveyor system according to the invention, and which is designated generally by reference 100. The conveyor system 100 is arranged along the underside of a roof 101 of a container body 102 and extends throughout at least a major part of the length of the container body. as can be seen from Figures 8 and 9.

The conveyor system 100 forms an overhead conveyor rail which is intended for use with a wheel suspended trolley which is movable along the rail in order to convey articles to and from the container body. The overhead conveyor 100 forms an overhead conveyor rail formed by a plurality of individual rail portions along its length, each of which is independently movable between a lowered operative wheelsupporting position, as shown in Figure 12a, and an upper inoperative storage position, as shown in Figure 12b.

The conveyor 100 comprises a tandem rail arrangement, as shown in Figure 12a and 12b and Figure 13, which comprises twin tracks 103 and 104 which are spaced apart from each other and extend parallel to each other, and one of which can serve for the guidance of loaded trolleys into the container body, and the other of which can be used to guide the return of empty trolleys to a loading bay (not shown) against which the container body 102 is positioned.

This will enable either one of the tracks to be used, depending upon whether the particular garments being handled are more suitable for left handed or right handed loading.

Each individual portion of the tandem rail arrangement comprises individual track portions 103 and 104 which are interconnected at each end, and vertically supported by means of upright inverted T-shaped supports 105. The cross pieces of the supports 105 interconnect the track portions 103 and 104, whereas the upright stem portions are pivotally connected at their upper ends on an overhead support beam or tube 106.

A limit stop arrangement (not shown) defines the lowered position of each individual portion, and a cable or other tensile lifting mechanism, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, is coupled with each portion and is operable to raise and lower each portion between its operative position and its inoperative position. The lifting mechanism is designated generally by reference 107 and is mounted on one side wall 108 of the container body 102.

To permit variation in height of each individual portion, and thereby collectively to alter the height and / or attitude of the overall twin track arrangement, each support 105 is vertically adjustable by means of a telescopic arrangement 109.

To facilitate smooth and easy transfer of trolleys from the loading bay to the container body, and vice versa, a coupling piece (not shown) is provided having flexible couplings at each end, one of which can be coupled up with an input end 109a of the overhead conveyor system, and the other of which can be coupled up with an end of a rail type support which extends from a factory or warehouse to the loading bay.

Each portion of the overhead conveyor system can be individually moved between its operative and inoperative positions, but in order to lock successive portions together in the operative position, sliding bolt type locking mechanisms are provided on each portion. as shown in Figure 15. Each sliding bolt mechanism includes a sliding bolt 110 which is arranged at the upstream end of each portion, and which can be slid longitudinally into engagement in a hollow portion 111 of the immediately adjacent upstream portion with respect to the direction of forward travel of a trolley, and as shown in the upper half of Figure 15. In addition, at the downstream end of the immediately adjacent upstream portion, there is provided an abutment 112 which is movable between an arresting position, as shown in the lower half of Figure 15, in which it limits the movement of the trolley when the adjacent portion (referenced generally by reference 113) has been raised to its inoperative position. However, upon lowering of the portion 113 to the operative position, the abutment 112 can take up an inoperative position out of the path of travel of a trolley to allow the trolley to move onto the portion 113 when the latter is in its inoperative position.

Thus, with these two portions both in the lowered position, the sliding bolt 110 can be moved to engage the hollow portion 111 to lock them together, and this automatically moves or triggers movement of the abutment 112 to the inoperative position.

Claims (22)

1. A conveyor system for use in a container body in order to load and unload the container body with articles and which comprises: an overhead conveyor rail adapted to be mounted on the underside of the roof of the container body and to extend throughout at least a major part of the container body, the rail being intended for use with a wheel-suspended trolley which is movable along the rail in order to convey articles to and from the container body; and, in which' the overhead conveyor rail is formed with a plurality of individual rail portions along its length, each of which is independently movable between a lowered operative wheel-supporting position and an upper inoperative storage position.

2. A conveyor system according to Claim 1, in which the overhead rail is mounted substantially midway across the width of the roof of a container body.

3. A conveyor system according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the individual portions of the overhead rail each comprise a suspended trapeze or U-shaped arm arrangement, the web of which forms, or carries the respective rail portion.

4. A conveyor system according to Claim 3, in which each side of the U-shaped arrangement comprises a Jprofile, and with a running rail supported by the ends of each J-profile.

5. A conveyor system according to Claim 3 or 4, including an overhead supporting beam from which the Ushaped arm arrangements are pivotally suspended.

6. A conveyor system according to any one of the preceding claims, including a limit stop provided at the downstream end of each rail portion which is operable to define a limit of movement of the trolley along the overhead rail.

7. A conveyor system according to Claim 2, in which the overhead rail is arranged below the roof in such a way that there is a small degree of "fall" from the entrance end of the container body, whereby loaded trolleys can move under gravity action into the interior of the container body.

8. A conveyor system according to Claim 7, including a further guide rail mounted in the container body and arranged to have a small "fall" in a direction towards the entrance to the container body for gravity return of unloaded trolleys.

9. A conveyor system according to Claim 2, in which the overhead conveyor rail is mounted in position within the container body by means of horizontal and vertical support beams, and includes a longitudinal horizontal support beam mounted along the underside of the container roof so as to extend from the entrance end towards the front wall of the container body.

10. A conveyor system according to Claim 9, in which the conveyor rail is suspended from the horizontal support beam via mountings which permit vertical adjustment of the height of the conveyor rail.

11. A conveyor system according to Claim 1, in which the overhead rail comprises a tandem rail arrangement, with one of the rails serving for guiding loaded trolleys into the container body and the other serving to guide emptied trolleys out of the container body.

12. A conveyor system according to Claim 11, in which each individual portion of the tandem rail arrangement comprises twin track portions spaced apart laterally of each other and supported from an overhead support beam.

13. A conveyor system according to Claim 12, in which each individual portion of the tandem rail arrangement is supported from the overhead support beam by a pair or supports arranged one at or near each end of the tandem rail portion.

14. A conveyor system according to Claim 13, in which the supports comprise inverted T-shaped supports pivotally mounted at their upper ends on the overhead support beam and serving to interconnect the track portions by means of their lower cross pieces.

15. A conveyor system according to any one of Claims 11 to 14, including a limit stop arrangement defining the lowered positions of the portions, and a cable or other tensile lifting mechanism coupled with each portion to raise and lower each portion between its operative and inoperative positions.

16. A conveyor system according to Claim 14 or 15, in which each support is vertically adjustable by means of a telescopic arrangement.

17. A conveyor system according to any one of Claims 11 to 16, including a sliding bolt type locking mechanism provided on each individual portion of the overhead rail.

18. A conveyor system according to Claim 17, in which the downstream end of each portion has an abutment which is movable between an arresting position in which it limits the movement of a trolley when a successive portion has been raised to its inoperative position, and an inoperative position out of the path of travel of a trolley to allow the trolley to move onto the next successive portion when the latter is in its operative position.

19. A conveyor system according to Claim 18, in which the sliding bolt mechanism is arranged automatically to move or to trigger movement of the abutment of an adjacent rail portion to its inoperative position as the bolt moves into locking engagement with the adjacent rail portion.

20. A conveyor system according to any one of the preceding claims, including a coupling piece having flexible couplings at each end, one of which can be coupled up with an input end of the overhead conveyor system, and the other of which can be coupled up with an end of a rail type support at a loading bay, to guide movement of trolleys between the overhead conveyor system and the rail type support.

21. A conveyor system according to Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

22. A container body provided with an overhead conveyor system according to any one of the preceding claims.